25 schools in 'Muslim plot' probe

There are now 25 schools under investigation over an alleged hardline Muslim plot to force out governors and headteachers.

Birmingham City Council said it was appointing a new chief adviser to directly handle at least 200 complaints received in relation to the Operation Trojan Horse allegations focusing on schools in the city, as the investigation continues to widen.

The council's investigation, running in parallel to a separate inquiry by the Department for Education (DfE), is due to initially report back in May.

However, Sir Albert Bore the council leader expressed "frustration" with the two-tier schools system which means academies - which are at the heart of the allegations - are outside the local authority's control, because they report directly to the DfE.

The council said Ian Kershaw, managing director of Northern Education, will take up the chief adviser role, and it is also setting up a review group of MPs, councillors, national teaching and governors groups, the police, and faith leaders, to look into the claims.

Mr Kershaw will publish his findings to the review group, which will then report to a council committee.

Sir Albert said a follow-up report containing recommendations for schools locally, and for the DfE to look at nationally, would be published by July.

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He also confirmed the council had spoken to the local authorities in both Manchester and Bradford, during its three-month long investigation, where similar allegations have been raised.

Separately, Education Secretary Michael Gove has personally sent Ofsted in to inspect 15 Birmingham schools in recent weeks, after the allegations first broke.

Concerns over how some of the city's 430 schools were being run first emerged when an anonymous letter known as Operation Trojan Horse was leaked, claiming a small but radical group of Muslims were pursuing their own agenda in the classrooms, with uncooperative headteachers and governors forced out.

The unsigned and undated document also claimed to have caused "a great amount of organised disruption" in the city, crediting the plan with forcing a change of leadership at four schools.

Since the letter came to light, anonymous whistle-blowers have claimed that boys and girls were segregated in classrooms and assemblies, sex education was banned, non-Muslim staff bullied, and in one case it was alleged that the teachings of a firebrand al Qaida-linked Muslim preacher praised to pupils.

Sir Albert said the council was "in dialogue" with the DfE, and confirmed none of the Ofsted inspection reports would be published by the education watchdog until after Easter.

West Midlands Police is also still looking into the authorship of the document, the council's leader said.

Sir Albert also described as "frustrating in the extreme" the situation whereby the city council is investigating possible wrong-doing at academies, where it has only limited powers to intervene if evidence of wrong-doing is uncovered.

Instead, the council has been speaking with headteachers and governors of non-local authority schools voluntarily and making approaches on the basis of its legal duty of care towards children.

He said: "It (the allegations) started off with reference to academy schools and that for us was a bit of a problem because academy schools are of course accountable to the DfE, not to ourselves."

Sir Albert added: "It's in the DfE's interest to settle some matters with us so we can move forward - it's unsatisfactory that you don't know who's on the governing body of academy schools."

The council's education chiefs have said that pupils deserve a "fantastic education system" while teachers "deserve to be able to work in their jobs without intimidation".

The allegations detailed in the Trojan Horse letter focus on the Park View Educational Trust, which runs three schools in the city - all of which have been subjected to snap Ofsted inspections in recent weeks.

Among further claims which have since come to light, one former anonymous staff member at Park View Academy in Alum Rock alleged a colleague had in an assembly praised the firebrand al-Qaida-linked Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki - he was killed by a US drone strike in Yemen in 2011.

The school trustees have firmly denied all the claims, branding the allegations "a witch-hunt", while pointing to very good academic results among its pupils.

All of the city's MPs recently wrote a letter to Mr Gove calling for a full inquiry into the issues to settle the matter.

A DfE spokesperson said its investigation was continuing and it would be inappropriate to comment further.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said schools should not be allowed to become "silos of segregation", as he backed the DfE's probe.

At a press conference in Westminster he said: "I am very concerned whenever I hear allegations that schools, funded by the taxpayer, become vehicles for the propagation of particular ideologies which divide young children and pupils off from other people in society.

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He added: "The best faith schools, partly because they are conscious of their own faith, reach out to other faiths, reach out to other schools in the local community, teach about other faiths, rather than allowing them to become silos of segregations."

He said his comments were not "directed at any one faith", but said schools which "turn inwards" needed to be investigated.

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Comments (6)

Stop any and all religious contact with ALL schools and educational establishments. School is of necessity secular, otherwise it can only be considered a place for indoctrination of fantasy.

Stop any and all religious contact with ALL schools and educational establishments.
School is of necessity secular, otherwise it can only be considered a place for indoctrination of fantasy.varteg1

Stop any and all religious contact with ALL schools and educational establishments. School is of necessity secular, otherwise it can only be considered a place for indoctrination of fantasy.

Score: 17

Chippy70 says...10:48am Mon 14 Apr 14

There should not be any indoctrination of any relgious belief or ideology in any state British schools. Full stop. My concern is for the poor children.

There should not be any indoctrination of any relgious belief or ideology in any state British schools. Full stop. My concern is for the poor children.Chippy70

There should not be any indoctrination of any relgious belief or ideology in any state British schools. Full stop. My concern is for the poor children.

Score: 25

walla1919 says...10:53am Mon 14 Apr 14

FTM

FTMwalla1919

FTM

Score: 1

welshmen says...12:03pm Mon 14 Apr 14

Islam is not a Religion, it's a Barbaric undemocratic Ideology, away to Colonise our Country with the full backing of our Government and the European Union, in Canada America this is also happening, this is allowed and has the Politically Correct Laws to back it up. What we are witnessing here is the democratic plan for Islam to rule here, naturally through breeding they can achieve this, the more your silent on this issue the more chance they will succeed, I would suggest and hope that more investigations are made all across the Country, not only in schools but any establishment enabling Islam to inflict it's Ideology on our people, the Liberal Elite who want this to happen, and they attack anyone who disagree's with the Racist Mallet, or the Islamophobia Hammer, and that works, people who voice their concerns are also called the far right wing, they trying to alienate them from the rest of us (Conquer and Divide) the Media help this on, this is backed by the D Notice, to stop any bad stories against Islam, or it's followers Muslims. A point in question, in 2004 Grooming gangs were reported to the Police, the person who reported it was taken to Court for Racial hatred twice, the BBC were the main drive for this action, the person was found not guilty twice, yet it still took eight years for the Police to arrest the Paedophiles, and that was only after many complaints by parents and one Labour MP who lived in that area....if you love our Country fight for it and help stop the Colonisation of our Country....If your happy for our Country to be an Islamic state give me a thumbs down....

Islam is not a Religion, it's a Barbaric undemocratic Ideology, away to Colonise our Country with the full backing of our Government and the European Union, in Canada America this is also happening, this is allowed and has the Politically Correct Laws to back it up.
What we are witnessing here is the democratic plan for Islam to rule here, naturally through breeding they can achieve this, the more your silent on this issue the more chance they will succeed, I would suggest and hope that more investigations are made all across the Country, not only in schools but any establishment enabling Islam to inflict it's Ideology on our people, the Liberal Elite who want this to happen, and they attack anyone who disagree's with the Racist Mallet, or the Islamophobia Hammer, and that works, people who voice their concerns are also called the far right wing, they trying to alienate them from the rest of us (Conquer and Divide) the Media help this on, this is backed by the D Notice, to stop any bad stories against Islam, or it's followers Muslims.
A point in question, in 2004 Grooming gangs were reported to the Police, the person who reported it was taken to Court for Racial hatred twice, the BBC were the main drive for this action, the person was found not guilty twice, yet it still took eight years for the Police to arrest the Paedophiles, and that was only after many complaints by parents and one Labour MP who lived in that area....if you love our Country fight for it and help stop the Colonisation of our Country....If your happy for our Country to be an Islamic state give me a thumbs down....welshmen

Islam is not a Religion, it's a Barbaric undemocratic Ideology, away to Colonise our Country with the full backing of our Government and the European Union, in Canada America this is also happening, this is allowed and has the Politically Correct Laws to back it up. What we are witnessing here is the democratic plan for Islam to rule here, naturally through breeding they can achieve this, the more your silent on this issue the more chance they will succeed, I would suggest and hope that more investigations are made all across the Country, not only in schools but any establishment enabling Islam to inflict it's Ideology on our people, the Liberal Elite who want this to happen, and they attack anyone who disagree's with the Racist Mallet, or the Islamophobia Hammer, and that works, people who voice their concerns are also called the far right wing, they trying to alienate them from the rest of us (Conquer and Divide) the Media help this on, this is backed by the D Notice, to stop any bad stories against Islam, or it's followers Muslims. A point in question, in 2004 Grooming gangs were reported to the Police, the person who reported it was taken to Court for Racial hatred twice, the BBC were the main drive for this action, the person was found not guilty twice, yet it still took eight years for the Police to arrest the Paedophiles, and that was only after many complaints by parents and one Labour MP who lived in that area....if you love our Country fight for it and help stop the Colonisation of our Country....If your happy for our Country to be an Islamic state give me a thumbs down....

Score: 34

Katie Re-Registered says...7:54am Tue 15 Apr 14

Chippy70 wrote…

There should not be any indoctrination of any relgious belief or ideology in any state British schools. Full stop. My concern is for the poor children.

I totally agree with you here, Chippy70. I don't see any justification for having religious schools in Britain at all. Perhaps if children of many different religions (or no religion at all), backgrounds and cultures etc were compelled to grow up, learn and work together the world would be a much better, more tolerant place. Parents may want to send their kids to a Catholic, Anglican, Muslim or Jewish school as a matter of tradition but supposing the kids themselves would rather go to a non-denominational state school and don't wish to subscribe to the religious teachings of the cultures of their parents? There is a children's rights issue here, too. Many religious schools have sexist, transphobic and homophobic policies in place - including separate, gendered dress codes for female and male students. If an adult were transgender or simply did not want to conform to patriarchist gender norms, then why do we expect and force children to do so? If an adult has a religion forced upon them that is considered oppressive and illegal. Yet under British law it's seemingly okay for a child to have a religious upbringing forced upon them by an adult. So effectively, we have freedom of religion, political thought and conscience in this country - but only if you're an adult.

[quote][p][bold]Chippy70[/bold] wrote:
There should not be any indoctrination of any relgious belief or ideology in any state British schools. Full stop. My concern is for the poor children.[/p][/quote]I totally agree with you here, Chippy70. I don't see any justification for having religious schools in Britain at all. Perhaps if children of many different religions (or no religion at all), backgrounds and cultures etc were compelled to grow up, learn and work together the world would be a much better, more tolerant place. Parents may want to send their kids to a Catholic, Anglican, Muslim or Jewish school as a matter of tradition but supposing the kids themselves would rather go to a non-denominational state school and don't wish to subscribe to the religious teachings of the cultures of their parents? There is a children's rights issue here, too. Many religious schools have sexist, transphobic and homophobic policies in place - including separate, gendered dress codes for female and male students. If an adult were transgender or simply did not want to conform to patriarchist gender norms, then why do we expect and force children to do so? If an adult has a religion forced upon them that is considered oppressive and illegal. Yet under British law it's seemingly okay for a child to have a religious upbringing forced upon them by an adult. So effectively, we have freedom of religion, political thought and conscience in this country - but only if you're an adult.Katie Re-Registered

Chippy70 wrote…

There should not be any indoctrination of any relgious belief or ideology in any state British schools. Full stop. My concern is for the poor children.

I totally agree with you here, Chippy70. I don't see any justification for having religious schools in Britain at all. Perhaps if children of many different religions (or no religion at all), backgrounds and cultures etc were compelled to grow up, learn and work together the world would be a much better, more tolerant place. Parents may want to send their kids to a Catholic, Anglican, Muslim or Jewish school as a matter of tradition but supposing the kids themselves would rather go to a non-denominational state school and don't wish to subscribe to the religious teachings of the cultures of their parents? There is a children's rights issue here, too. Many religious schools have sexist, transphobic and homophobic policies in place - including separate, gendered dress codes for female and male students. If an adult were transgender or simply did not want to conform to patriarchist gender norms, then why do we expect and force children to do so? If an adult has a religion forced upon them that is considered oppressive and illegal. Yet under British law it's seemingly okay for a child to have a religious upbringing forced upon them by an adult. So effectively, we have freedom of religion, political thought and conscience in this country - but only if you're an adult.

Score: 6

varteg1 says...11:59am Tue 15 Apr 14

Katie Re-Registered wrote…

Chippy70 wrote…

There should not be any indoctrination of any relgious belief or ideology in any state British schools. Full stop. My concern is for the poor children.

I totally agree with you here, Chippy70. I don't see any justification for having religious schools in Britain at all. Perhaps if children of many different religions (or no religion at all), backgrounds and cultures etc were compelled to grow up, learn and work together the world would be a much better, more tolerant place. Parents may want to send their kids to a Catholic, Anglican, Muslim or Jewish school as a matter of tradition but supposing the kids themselves would rather go to a non-denominational state school and don't wish to subscribe to the religious teachings of the cultures of their parents? There is a children's rights issue here, too. Many religious schools have sexist, transphobic and homophobic policies in place - including separate, gendered dress codes for female and male students. If an adult were transgender or simply did not want to conform to patriarchist gender norms, then why do we expect and force children to do so? If an adult has a religion forced upon them that is considered oppressive and illegal. Yet under British law it's seemingly okay for a child to have a religious upbringing forced upon them by an adult. So effectively, we have freedom of religion, political thought and conscience in this country - but only if you're an adult.

CHILD ABUSE.....plain to see.

[quote][p][bold]Katie Re-Registered[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Chippy70[/bold] wrote:
There should not be any indoctrination of any relgious belief or ideology in any state British schools. Full stop. My concern is for the poor children.[/p][/quote]I totally agree with you here, Chippy70. I don't see any justification for having religious schools in Britain at all. Perhaps if children of many different religions (or no religion at all), backgrounds and cultures etc were compelled to grow up, learn and work together the world would be a much better, more tolerant place. Parents may want to send their kids to a Catholic, Anglican, Muslim or Jewish school as a matter of tradition but supposing the kids themselves would rather go to a non-denominational state school and don't wish to subscribe to the religious teachings of the cultures of their parents? There is a children's rights issue here, too. Many religious schools have sexist, transphobic and homophobic policies in place - including separate, gendered dress codes for female and male students. If an adult were transgender or simply did not want to conform to patriarchist gender norms, then why do we expect and force children to do so? If an adult has a religion forced upon them that is considered oppressive and illegal. Yet under British law it's seemingly okay for a child to have a religious upbringing forced upon them by an adult. So effectively, we have freedom of religion, political thought and conscience in this country - but only if you're an adult.[/p][/quote]CHILD ABUSE.....plain to see.varteg1

Katie Re-Registered wrote…

Chippy70 wrote…

There should not be any indoctrination of any relgious belief or ideology in any state British schools. Full stop. My concern is for the poor children.

I totally agree with you here, Chippy70. I don't see any justification for having religious schools in Britain at all. Perhaps if children of many different religions (or no religion at all), backgrounds and cultures etc were compelled to grow up, learn and work together the world would be a much better, more tolerant place. Parents may want to send their kids to a Catholic, Anglican, Muslim or Jewish school as a matter of tradition but supposing the kids themselves would rather go to a non-denominational state school and don't wish to subscribe to the religious teachings of the cultures of their parents? There is a children's rights issue here, too. Many religious schools have sexist, transphobic and homophobic policies in place - including separate, gendered dress codes for female and male students. If an adult were transgender or simply did not want to conform to patriarchist gender norms, then why do we expect and force children to do so? If an adult has a religion forced upon them that is considered oppressive and illegal. Yet under British law it's seemingly okay for a child to have a religious upbringing forced upon them by an adult. So effectively, we have freedom of religion, political thought and conscience in this country - but only if you're an adult.

CHILD ABUSE.....plain to see.

Score: 4

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